Redwood Watch

Redwood Watch is a citizen science project created by Save the Redwoods League scientists to help learn in what climates redwoods can survive and track the redwood forests' migration over time. Redwoods can grow taller than 100 meters and have been known to live for more than 2,000 years.

Redwood forests once grew in North America and beyond but their territory, which has shrunk due to changing landscapes and climates over millions of years, today stands at about 1.9 million acres along the coast of Northern California. Researchers believe that climate change will continue to impact the survival of these trees and are seeking help to map the areas where redwoods are currently thriving.

Redwood tree observations can be made anywhere redwood trees are found and recorded using the Redwood Watch iPhone application. By submitting observations citizen scientists will help their professional colleagues track the migration of redwood forests over time and learn what climate redwood trees can survive.

Project Details

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST: Ruskin Hartley, Executive Director and Secretary

SCIENTIST AFFILIATION: Save the Redwoods League

DATES: Ongoing

PROJECT TYPE: Observation

COST: Free

GRADE LEVEL: All Ages

TIME COMMITMENT: Variable

HOW TO JOIN:

Find a redwood tree in a park, in your own backyard, or in a botanical garden around the world. Use the free Redwood Watch iPhone application powered by iNaturalist or your own camera to take a photo of the tree and submit it online. Visit the Redwood Watch Web site for additional details.

What Is Citizen Science?

Research often involves teams of scientists collaborating across continents. Now, using the power of the Internet, non-specialists are participating, too. Citizen Science falls into many categories. A pioneering project was SETI@Home, which has harnessed the idle computing time of millions of participants in the search for extraterrestrial life. Citizen scientists also act as volunteer classifiers of heavenly objects, such as in Galaxy Zoo. They make observations of the natural world, as in The Great Sunflower Project. And they even solve puzzles to design proteins, such as FoldIt. We'll add projects regularly—and please tell us about others you like as well.